Many modern consumer electronics devices use communication standards, such as the Bluetooth standard or Internet Protocol (IP) standard, for communicating with other such devices. One simple example is a Bluetooth headset for a mobile phone. Once the headset and the mobile phone are “connected”—that is, they have established a communication channel between the two devices—then the user of the mobile phone can operate the phone in a hands-free fashion via the wireless headset. Other examples of Bluetooth-compatible devices include small personal music players which can use Bluetooth to wirelessly play their music over the amplifier and speakers of a larger stereo system, and personal computers which can use Bluetooth to wirelessly connect many types of peripheral devices.
Bluetooth technology, like others, has also become a popular feature in vehicles. Many vehicles now include capability for a driver or occupant to wirelessly connect a personal consumer electronics device with the vehicle's embedded entertainment and communication systems via Bluetooth. One example of this is using a vehicle's microphone and speaker system to operate a driver's mobile phone in a hands-free fashion. Another example is playing music from a small personal music player through a vehicle's stereo sound system. Bluetooth wireless connectivity has gained rapid acceptance for these types of applications and many others.
However, several problems associated with the use of Bluetooth and other connectivity technologies remain unsolved in the art. For example, when a Bluetooth-enabled electronic device, such as the user's mobile phone, is connected to two or more devices, the user may experience confusion when audio is not presented through the expected one of the two or more devices. In the exemplary context of in-vehicle use, a user may enter a vehicle with a mobile phone and a headset, at which point the mobile phone may be connected with both the vehicle and the headset. The user may experience confusion if audio is unexpectedly presented through the headset as opposed to through the vehicle.